Dear Lifehacker,
I want to participate in the Occupy Wall Street movement but I've heard that some people are losing their jobs. I know I have the right to freedom of speech, but is there anything I should do to ensure my job is safe if I decide to take part?

Joining the Occupy Wall Street protests has its dangers. You could get pepper-sprayed or end up in…
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Sincerely,
Preoccupied Prospective Protester

Dear PPP,

This is a complicated situation, but the first thing you should know is that so long as you don't say anything damaging about your company or their partners, they really have no grounds to fire you. As you noted, you have the right to protest and freedom of speech. It's unlikely that your company would consider firing you for exercising those rights, whether they hide behind another reason or not, but there are certainly precautions you can take and good ways to handle the situation should things go sour.

Note: This post is not suggesting your first amendment rights entitle you to leave your job to protest. It is simply about expressing your views—whatever they are—on your own time and preparing for or dealing with any possible hardships at the office. While this post was written because of issues arising from the Occupy Wall Street movement, the advice is applicable to any protest or or political issue that matters to you.

Before the Protest

Consult the Employee Handbook

I spoke with Ed Godin, Chief People Officer at Brightcove, to get a better picture of how companies tend to handle these sorts of situations and how employees can approach them responsibly. He suggested that the first thing you should do is familiarize yourself with company policies. While digging through the employee handbook may not be the most exciting read, you can always ask your human resources (HR) department to point you to the relevant parts. Your goal is to know how your company handles employee speech that could be considered negative so you're aware of how they may respond should something you say or do during the protest wind up on television or the internet.

Speak to Someone You Trust at Work

Whether it's someone in your HR department, your supervisor/manager, or anyone else with power at the company that you trust, Ed suggests speaking with them about your intent. Sometimes an employee handbook won't be as specific as you want, so make sure to find out the following:

Does your company have any point of view on how you conduct yourself outside of the office?

Would the company ever fire someone for exercising freedom of speech?

How does the company suggest you behave in this situation?

The key here is not to let the company dictate your behavior but to put the onus on them rather than you. If they advise you and you follow that advice, it puts you in a much safer situation. Your company will have a lot of trouble firing your or even reprimanding you if you simply followed their rules. All of this said, be sure to be clear on this one point: your participation is your right and asking you to withdraw is not an option.

In most cases this will be a short conversation. You're choosing to be responsible and honest, and most companies will appreciate that even if they do not share your political views. Some organizations may even appreciate the dialogue because it gives them the opportunity to set a precedent for handling these types of situations. Either way, you'll likely be told there's very little you have to worry about.

After the Protest

In the event things go sour despite your responsible efforts, or you've already protested and found yourself in a sticky situation, there are a couple of things you can do. First, be completely honest and transparent. If you're in trouble, whether you deserve to be or not, lying will not help you. Second, apologize for putting the company in a bad or awkward position but assert your right to your freedom of speech. If you simply shared your viewpoint (without publicly damaging the company) you haven't done anything wrong. Looking on the bright side, you've now started a dialogue at the company about how your rights are handled. While inspiring disciplinary action may not be the ideal method for doing so, the important thing is that you now have an opportunity to help the company grow and create better policy around these issues.

While many companies will show a healthy amount of understanding and your participation in most protests will not be an issue, there are certain organizations that tend to use a more black and white viewpoint. In the event your freedom of speech is considered a problem, be kind but ask them why. Dig into the issue with your company and find out why they are so vehemently opposed to what you did and/or said. Perhaps the most important advice Ed provided was that there is no situation that cannot be resolved, but only situations where the participants aren't willing to resolve it. You can't control the behavior of your employer, but by having an open dialogue about the problem and attempting to rectify the situation you can inspire the willingness to work towards a solution. If worst comes to worst and you do end up losing your job, at least you'll be able to leave knowing that you tried your best and did the right thing.